The GaInP/GaAs heterostructure has been shown to exhibit advantages in certain semiconductor devices. One example is the GaInP/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor (I-IBT). The GaInP/GaAs heterostructure provides essentially the same bandgap energy difference as the more traditional A1GaAs/GaAs structure, but with more of the discontinuity in the valence band and less in the conduction band. This leads to an advantage in the HBT of providing higher electron injection efficiency than is typically found in A1GaAs/GaAs HBTs. HBTs based on the GaInP/GaAs material system have been shown to have near-ideal current-voltage (i-v) characteristics with constant current gain over five decades of collector current and greater than unity current gain at ultra-small current densities. In additional contrast to AlGaAs/GaAs HBTs, GaInP/GaAs HBTs offer a near unity ideality factor in i-v characteristics, a favorable lineup of the conduction band in the heterojunction, and the relative absence of recombination centers in the emitter.